CARLSBAD -- Firefighters worked through the night Thursday morning to extinguish a large fire, which destroyed what was two months away from being a brand new hotel.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation and officials from out of town are being brought in to assist.

Units from all around the Carlsbad area were called in to help put the blaze out around midnight, Carlsbad Fire Marshal John Miller said.

The incident occurred in the 4100 block of National Parks Highway, directly across the street from Happy's Restaurant and in between Sandia National Laboratories and a fire station. Officials said the fire was at the construction site of a new Quality Inn hotel.

Smoke could be seen from several miles away and traffic was backed up on National Parks Highway as police and fire trucks blocked the entire road.

Miller said the fire department was able to get it under control at around 4 a.m.

New Mexico Public Regulation Commission released a statement saying that State Investigator Bill Farmer arrived on scene of the hotel fire between 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.

The statement also said the cause of the fire is still unknown, but the scene is still being secured and they are waiting for the arrival of additional personnel.

"It could be as late as Monday before the investigation is in full swing," the statement reads.

In the meantime, Miller said that the Carlsbad Fire Department would be sectioning off and guarding the site.

Henry Bhakta, one of the several owners of the hotel, said construction of the building began in Aug. 2015. He expected to open the business in about two months.

"I was shocked," said Bhakta. "It takes a lot of work on our side and it takes a lot of planning from years and months to get to this point. So I was really shocked and basically disappointed."

He said that overall, the project cost about $4.2 million to build.

Klaus Priebe, the supervisor of the project, said that 65 percent of the hotel was completed when the fire hit.

"We were just starting to sheetrock the third floor and insulating, and those are basically the final steps to get furniture in and solid rooms," Priebe said.

Neither Bhakta nor Priebe were able to say how far back the opening date of the hotel would be pushed.

"Hopefully with the insurance and everything we're gonna take everything out of here and restart building," Priebe said.

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The morning after the fire at 4100 National Parks Highway.(Photo: Connie Lee/Current-Argus)